LAS VEGAS – The San Francisco Giants‘ coaching staff is bare bones with the organization transitioning to a new manager in Tony Vitello.
The team’s brass is “not rushing” to make final coaching decisions, and conversations are ongoing into this week’s general managers meetings in Las Vegas, said president of baseball operations Buster Posey.
“We’ve got some names that are close to being finalized and feel like it’s coming together,” Posey said Tuesday in a crowded conference room of National League GMs at the Cosmopolitan. “A lot of time on calls with Tony and Zack and Jeremy and Paul,” referring to GM Zack Minasian, senior vice president and assistant GM Jeremy Shelley and vice president of baseball analytics Paul Bien. “A lot of different people, but it’s coming together.”
Jayce Tingler is the only confirmed addition to the staff, though his title has yet to be determined. He could be a bench coach – a role he previously served with the Minnesota Twins – or perhaps deemed an associate manager, a new type of job that’s sweeping baseball. Former Giants bullpen coach Craig Albernaz (recently hired as the Baltimore Orioles manager) was Stephen Vogt’s associate manager in Cleveland.
Posey said they’re open to the non-traditional coaching titles such as associate manager, and that Vitello is vouching for cross-pollination when it comes to coaching input.
“I’m open to it, because it’s ultimately about getting the right group into place,” Posey said. “On the flip side of that, this is really up to Tony and his responsibility as far as how he delegates and draws the lines for how we’re going to work as a staff. I’ve also heard him say a lot during this process that he’s OK working with a group where – let’s say a quality control coach – sees something on the base running side. People being open to those thoughts and not feeling like you’re stepping on someone’s toes as opposed to venturing into someone’s expertise.”
From fired manager Bob Melvin’s staff, only assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard and quality control coach Taira Uematsu are confirmed to be returning in their respective roles next season, Posey said.
Bernard, one of the few Spanish-speaking coaches on the staff with pitching coach JP Martinez’s departure, was added to the hitting coach group last season. Uematsu has been with the organization since 2006, first brought on as a minor league bullpen coach who ascended to major league assistant in 2022.
First base coach Mark Hallberg is a “popular guy with other teams” and isn’t a guarantee to return. Catching coach Alex Burg is “in the same boat,” Posey said.
A majority of coaches from last year’s staff aren’t returning to their previous jobs. Hitting coach Pat Burrell will remain with the organization, but not as a uniformed coach on the major league staff, Posey confirmed.
Martinez, bullpen coach Garvin Alston, assistant hitting coach Damon Minor, bench coach Ryan Christenson and third base coach Matt Williams are out. Martinez took a job as the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen coach while awaiting the Giants’ decision.
“With nothing being a guarantee for JP, he took the bird in hand,” Posey said. “We were going through the process and hadn’t told him that he wasn’t going to be returning. I’m a JP fan. I had a good talk with him when he took the job and told him I think he’s going to be successful and see him down the road.”
Martinez and Alston helped shape the Giants’ pitching staff into one of the only success stories of the season, let alone one of the more dominant groups in the National League. Posey reiterated that the front office wanted some continuity with the coaching staff, but ultimately its a refurbishment around a new voice at the helm in Vitello.
Former manager Bruce Bochy will be around plenty as a special advisor and former Giants reliever and current part-time broadcaster for NBC Sports Bay Area Javier Lopez was with the team’s brass providing his input during the GM meetings in Las Vegas.
Roster move: The Giants traded right-handed pitcher Mason Black to the Kansas City Royals for another right-handed pitcher, Logan Martin. Martin had a 3.45 ERA over 22 starts with the Royals’ High-A affiliate last season. Black was designated for assignment last week in a series of roster moves to add left-handed pitcher Reiver Sanmartin off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Justin Dean from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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